04Apr17

Families mourn Nanjing Massacre victims on Tomb Sweeping Day

With no tombs to sweep for their deceased relatives, some 50 family members of the victims of the
1937 Nanjing Massacre visited a memorial hall in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to
pay their respects Tuesday morning.

Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4 this year, is an occasion for Chinese to mourn the
deceased and worship their ancestors.

Eleven survivors of the tragedy also attended the ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in
Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

They stood in silent tribute for one minute.

There are only 100 living Chinese survivors of the atrocity, according to the official association for
survivors of the massacre.

Ge Daorong, 90, one of the survivors, said, "My family has been dead for 80 years and I have missed
them painfully for 80 years. We come here not only to remember our deceased family but also to
make more people value peace."

Ma Tinglu and Ma Tingbao are brothers. They are also survivors of the Nanjing Massacre. Their father
and two uncles were shot to death by Japanese soldiers, who later burned their bodies to conceal the
crime.

"We can only come here to worship our ancestors," Ma Tingbao said. "I will tell the history to my
descendants."

During the three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, the memorial hall received more than 100,000
visitors. Visitors presented chrysanthemums to the memorial wall to commemorate the victims of the
Nanjing Massacre.

[Source: Xinhua, Nanjing, 04Apr17]

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